Upworthy · 5 hours ago

'Frozen' Animator Launches an Interactive Asl Learning App and Vows to Keep It Free Forever

When Disney animator Josh Staub began developing an animated series centered on a deaf family, he knew he couldn't approach the Deaf community as an outsider borrowing their language - he had to enter it as a student, and eventually, as a friend. That decision to learn ASL from a Deaf teacher led him somewhere he hadn't anticipated: deep into a community he describes as "extremely outgoing and 'animated' when they communicate," one that reshaped both his project and his life. The result is Small Talk ASL, a free app featuring a fully animated character named Oscar who teaches sign language not as an instructor but as a companion - rotating, expressive, endlessly patient. Staub's commitment to keeping it free forever reflects something at the core of the whole endeavor, a belief that no one should face an obstacle to reaching across the divide between hearing and Deaf worlds. His closing ask of users says it plainly: "For some of you, Oscar is your first Deaf friend. Don't make him your last."